BBQ and beer a "marriage made in heaven" for London Ribfest

Two words couldn’t be more compatible in the summer months and that’s what London gets this Civic holiday long weekend at the annual London Ribfest and Craft Beer Festival at Victoria Park Thursday through Monday.

The festival — which includes ribs, live entertainment, midway rides, a virtual reality tent for children and adults, daily beer pong tournaments, a chalk art competition and a variety of food and arts and crafts vendors — has added beer in a big way.

Admission: Free. Visit the website canadasbiggestparty.com for more information about the ribbers, craft brewers, events, activities, competitions and vendors.

There will be 10 ribbers, as usual, but also 10 craft breweries on site, the entire area licenced to allow rib lovers to enjoy a brew while they wait in line and eat, or vote online for their favourites in both categories.

Ribbers and brewers alike couldn’t be happier.

“It’s a very natural marriage. They complement each other so well,” said Tom Diavolitsis, owner of Boss Hog’s BBQ, the first ribber to win the top spot with the judges and the coveted People’s Choice award in the same year in 2017.

“It really adds another element to the festival that will draw more people. In the end, it’s going to give everyone a better experience. It will create a better atmosphere.”

Gavin Anderson, president of Anderson Craft Ales, said adding the region’s craft brewers to the festival can only help the breweries.

“It makes total sense to me. Barbecue and beer and with local craft beer, it’s even better,” said Anderson, noting more and more festivals are adding craft beer components to meet demand.

“The market is still growing and a lot of people are moving to the craft beers and they want local craft beers at the festivals, which are great exposure for us. It’s the best way to get our name out there.”

With 10 craft brewers each offering several different styles of beer, it might be daunting for beer and rib lovers to choose a beer for their ribs.

“The most important thing to remember about pairing beer with food is that it’s less about the proteins you’re eating and more about the content of the flavours and, with ribs, it’s the sauce,” said Lisa Wissink, event planner working toward a cicerone certificate with Anderson Craft Ales.

“In the sauce, you’ve often got a lot of smokey flavours: bitter, sweet, spicy heat, salty and savoury. So, when you’re choosing a beer it’s not only what you like, but what you want to emphasize. If you want to focus on the meaty, smokey flavours, you want something a little more bitter, but light and crisp, like our German-style Pilsner. The sweetness of the sauce and rib adds a lot of contrast so you can appreciate the flavours of both the meat and the beer.

Likewise, an India Pale Ale is more “hops forward” so more bitter, said Wissink.

“The flavours used in creating the dish is what you want to play off of. If you want to complement a flavour, like the sweetness, then I’d suggest something with sweet, caramel undertones that a little more malty, like our Scotch Ale.”

Lisa Wissink, event planner for London’s Anderson Craft Ales, and Tom Diavolitsis, owner of Boss Hog’s BBQ, are excited about the addition of 10 craft breweries to this year’s London Ribfest, opening Thursday and continuing until Monday at Victoria Park.

“When you have big foods with a lot of flavour, especially these meaty flavours, you want something with a less malty profile, like the IPA. It’s hops forward and hugely flavourful so you need food that can hold up to that. You can decide to amplify flavours or make them match. Or go for the contrast and take your time to think about what flavour you’re excited about and want to enjoy and how you can provide that contrast.”

Stephen Rich, brewmaster at Cowbell Brewing Co. in Blyth and a certified cicerone, Prud’homme beer sommelier and accredited beer judge, said ribs and beer “are a marriage made in heaven.”

“Among the best pairings in the world,” said Rich. “I don’t know of anything better than that.”

Rich said the “beauty” of pairing ribs and beer is they both “have a ton of versatility.”

“They share sweetness, roastiness, savoury, intensity, and big, full-bodied flavours. Ribs can be so many different things – sweet, sticky, smokey, savoury, spicy heat – and beer can be so many things to match.”

There’s a simplicity to ribs and beer, said Rich.

“For instance, take our Shindig Huron County lager,” he said.

“It is elegant and easy, refreshing on your palate. It’s relaxing and simple and cuts against the richness of the ribs. Or, you can contrast big flavours with an IPA like Doc Perdue’s Boxing Bruin. Those hop sensations are vibrant, refreshing, pungent and bitter. This is a great intensity match – full flavour against full flavour. The bitterness naturally cleans away the sweetness, the stickiness of ribs leaving your plate fresh for more.”